Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Over 61 lakh MT wheat arrives in Haryanaedit
Over 61.63 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of wheat arrived at the mandis in Haryana till yesterday in the current Rabi season, compared to over 58.83 lakh MT during the corresponding period last year. A spokesman of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department said that over 61.60 lakh MT has been procured by five government procurement agencies at Minimum Support Price, while 3,596 MT has been procured by traders.
Artificial waterholes created in Shettyhalli sanctuaryedit
In the wake of acute shortage of water in Shettyhalli Wildlife Sanctuary limits in the district, the Forest Department has constructed 40 artificial waterholes there to provide water for the wildlife in the area. Apart from more than 100 natural waterholes, the Tunga, Aihole, and Puradal reservoirs and the Kumudvati river are sources of water for the sanctuary spread over an area of 396 sq. km.
Punjab’s debt could be around Rs 2.5 lakh crore: Amarinderedit
Punjab is reeling under a debt of around Rs 2.5 lakh crore, much higher than the anticipated Rs 1.5 lakh crore, and this will come out in the white paper being produced by June ahead of the budget presentation, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh said today. He said that the state was working out the farm debt waiver as promised earlier and the government is working out details as it intends to come out with a “meaningful” loan waiver unlike Uttar Pradesh, whose scheme he termed as a “mere gimmick”.
APMC ceases procurement of toor dal citing gunny bag shortage, farmers fumeedit
FARMERS IN Sankheda taluka of Chhota Udepur district have gone on a ‘hunger strike’, protesting against the APMC authorities who have ceased the procurement of toor dal since Thursday, owing to a shortage of the mandatory gunny bags provided by the APMC.
Fields on fire: As farmers count losses, PSPCL says wheat over only 259 acres damagededit
A total of 63 case of fire in wheat fields damaging crop on 259 acres due to sagging electricity cables have been reported till April 20, reveals an assessment by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). According to principal secretary, power, A Venuprasad, who also holds the charge of chairman-cum-managing director of the PSPCL, the number of fire incidents in the current rabi season are less as compared to last year in the corresponding period when wheat over 223 acres was gutted in 100 incidents.
National Organic and Millets Trade Fair aims to increase awareness about the wonder grain, make Karnataka the ‘Millet Capital of India’edit
A number of health-conscious restaurants across the globe are now looking beyond chia seeds and quinoa for superfood options. Millets, long known and hailed as a wonder grain across India and other Asian and African countries, are slowly coming to the notice of food experts across the world.
A platform to link organic farmers with key food retailersedit
Organic produce, including the nutrient-rich millet, is gaining popularity in cities. But they are highly priced, making it almost unaffordable for the ordinary middle class. Ironically, farmers who grow them are not getting remunerative prices. Hoping to solve this dichotomy, Karnataka has embarked on an initiative to provide direct interface between organic farmers and the country’s leading organic food retailers.
8 days on, hundreds of farmers on protest demanding loan waiveredit
Over hundreds of farmers from Pacchua Doon conducted a mass rally outside Vikasnagar on Monday against the state government. The farmers said that the government had failed to meet its own election promise of waiving of agricultural loans. They have been protesting for over a week with kisan union head Sandeep Dubey sitting on hunger strike.
Insecticides Market is Expected to Grow to $16.7 Billion, Globally, by 2020 Allied Market Researchedit
Companies operating in this market focus on product launches as part of their growth strategy; for instance, in the U.S., DOW Agroscience and Bayer Cropscience launched new insecticides, namely, Sequoia, Closerand Sivanto. Key companies profiled in the report are BASF, Bayer AG, DOW Agriscience LLC, Syngenta AG, Cheminova A/S, FMC Corporation, Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd, Nufarm Ltd, E.I DuPont de Numerous and Company and Monsanto.
NITI Aayog tells Centre to review tax exemption on farm incomeedit
In agriculture, officials said the Aayog favours the use of genetically modified seeds discovered by domestic institutions and companies. It also wanted reworking of the PM’s Crop Insurance Scheme and easing of labour laws to boost manufacturing.
Technology in Agriculture
Sonalika builds world’s largest plant in Punjab; to hire 1500 peopleedit
Home-grown tractor manufacturer International Tractor limited is all set to open world’s largest tractor manufacturing unit within its existing plant here early next month. The owner of the third largest selling tractor brand Sonalika will have an annual installed capacity of two lakh tractor at the new facility, which will be an addition to the existing one lakh unit annual capacity in the same plant.
Smart harvestedit
A John Deere tractor is tirelessly ploughing Rajendra Prasad’s two acres in Huttur in Kolar in Karnataka. He is planning to grow tomatoes here. Kolar’s tomatoes are famous and are sold across the country. Until a year ago, however, Prasad would have thought twice before hiring a tractor. “I used to hire a tractor from a local person and end up paying around 06,000. Now I pay just 02,000 through Gold Farm,” he said.